Manchester United And Adidas Agree To Richest Uniform Deal Ever

English soccer
team Manchester United and German sportswear maker
Adidas have agreed to the richest uniform deal in the history of sports.

Adidas will pay $1.3 billion over 10 years to United, or $130 million a year, beginning with the 2015-16 season. The United deal shatters the previous record for a kit deal set by Arsenal and the German sportswear maker Puma that begins next season, which will see the Gunners rake in $51 million a year over five years.

The richest kit deal currently paying money to a team is the $41 million a season being paid by Adidas to Real Madrid (see table below of current uniform sponsorships). In U.S., the richest uniform sponsorship is the $18 million a year average paid by American athletic apparel manufacturer Nike to the NFL, an agreement that began in 2012.

The kit deal is a big score for the iconic soccer team, which has captured a record 20 English league titles, because United will not participate in the 2014-15 Champions League. But the Adidas kid deal, coming comes along with the team's $559 million, seven-year shirt deal with Chevrolet (also the richest in sports) means it will continue to have the cash flow to turn an operating profit and sign elite players.

Manchester United Defend (Photo credit: Paolo Camera)

Nike, who currently has United's uniform deal, recently decided that the soccer team wanted too much to continue the partnership. The big battle between Nike and Adidas over soccer was well played by United, much in the way Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones used the NFL's credit card rights with Visa more than two decades ago to get a valuable stadium sponsorship from rival American Express.

One could only imagine how much money a guy like Jones could get for the Cowboys if individual teams, rather than the league, cut uniform sponsorship deals.